Bringin' on the Heartache
by TeekayStaples
Summary: Lonny reveals the truth about his last serious relationship, but how will Dennis handle the information? Rated T for language and sexual references, as well as some violence. LonnyxStacee


Dennis and Lonny were sitting in the office. The Bourbon was closed for the evening, and the two men were knocking back a few drinks before calling it a night. Dennis had just finished telling Lonny the story of his ex-wife, which, while it had ended on horrible terms, was actually rather amusing. When they'd recovered from their laughing fit, Dennis asked for a similar story.

"Ok, your turn." He announced as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on. I just told you about the second greatest heartbreak of my life. It's your turn to tell me yours."

Lonny only waved Dennis off with one hand and took another sip of Bourbon.

"Nah."

Dennis smirked and trailed kisses down Lonny's jawline, knowing how much it would drive the younger man crazy.

"Tell me." He whispered.

"You'll be bored." Lonny replied quietly, biting his lip while Dennis continued to kiss his neck.

"Tell me." Dennis said again. Lonny rolled his eyes. He'd only ever had one huge heartbreak, aside from the constant one that came with having a huge crush on Dennis, a man he was certain he could never have, and he wasn't overly eager to let Dennis know about it.

"Fine, I seriously reckon you'll be bored though." Lonny mumbled as they shifted around on the couch to make themselves more comfortable. Dennis leaned back, with one arm draped over the back of the chair, while Lonny sat cross-legged with his back against the armrest, facing Dennis.

"Ok. You remember that… rough patch I went through a few years back? March 1978?"

Dennis nodded. How could he forget?

_Dennis had been minding his own business, filling out paperwork (mostly forms from the taxation department) when Lonny had stumbled into the office._

_It was clear that the brunette had had way too much to drink. It was also clear that he'd been out in the rain – he was soaked, shivering, and sobbing hysterically._

_After a minute of two, Lonny said (between sobs) that it was heartbreak that had him devastated. He wouldn't give a name, but he said that this love interest had cheated on him with Stacee Jaxx. Dennis chose to believe him. After a few hours, Dennis managed to calm his friend down, and drove him home. _

_At Ten O'clock the next morning, Dennis was woken up by a phone call from the hospital. Lonny had apparently gotten drunk and swallowed a bunch of pills, a suicide attempt, not doubt._

_Lonny was a mess when Dennis showed up at the hospital. According to doctors, he'd been sleeping off the effects of the pills, and would be drowsy for a while. The deep cut on his left wrist had required five stitches – the one on the other wrist required six._

"_Why did you do it? Dennis asked as he took the seat closest to Lonny's hospital bed. Lonny shrugged, he still looked drowsy._

"_I guess I just didn't want to live anymore. What was the point, y'know?" Lonny muttered hoarsely, "For the first time in my life, I thought I meant something to someone. I thought I mattered. But I was just an experiment. And that hurt."_

Dennis frowned, remembering how long it had taken to get Lonny on the straight and narrow again. There had been two more failed suicide attempts after that one – Dennis didn't want to think about it. He just wrapped his arms around Lonny and held him closer.

"Who were they?" He asked. Lonny smiled.

"Arsenal was back in town for another show. They were already huge, as you well know, but they weren't quite at the top of the charts… yet. They were scheduled to stay in the general Los Angeles area for about a month or so, doing a bunch of gigs in the town that made them famous. You'll probably remember that I was quite the Arsenal fan too. Their first show was at the Bourbon, and I was fortunate enough to get up close and personal with **THE** Stacee Jaxx."

"_So, are you excited about the show?" Stacee questioned, removing his aviators to get a good look at the man in front of him. Lonny nodded nervously._

"_Y-Yeah."_

_Stacee thought for a moment. For the past few days, he'd been wondering something. He'd never been with a guy before… what if he was gay? How would he know? He liked women, sure, but what if he was missing out on something amazing? How would he know if he didn't… experiment?_

_Lonny had been thrilled. When Stacee took an interest in him, he thought he was something special. He thought he meant something to the rock god._

_Back then, Stacee hadn't given a damn about anyone else, so long as he got what he wanted. The arrival of Constance Sack had changed all that._

_But Stacee strung Lonny along for the whole time he was in LA – about six weeks, one of the longest relationships either of them had ever had. Lonny fell more and more in love with Stacee, as time went on. And Stacee got more and more bored, and started seeing other women on the side._

_When Stacee left LA, he abruptly ended his relationship with Lonny (who had never seen it coming) after one last session of love making in Stacee's dressing room._

_Stacee was lying on his back on the couch, with Lonny half asleep on top of him. Arsenal was on in ten minutes. _

"_Don't forget me, while you're on tour." Lonny murmured as he ran a finger up and down Stacee's chest._

"_Listen, about that."_

"_Bout' what, Stace?" Lonny asked, sitting up._

"_Look, kid. This has been fun and all, but I really don't think it's gonna work out?"_

"_What do you mean?" Lonny was becoming more and more confused, "Don't you love me anymore?"_

"_Donny, please-"_

"_It's Lonny actually."_

"_Whatever. My mind is so complex, that I can't just stay tied down to one person for the rest of my life-"_

"_Y-you can see other people as well! I don't care! Just don't shut me out of your life!"_

"_It was fun while it lasted. Really, I enjoyed it. But I think it's best that you don't mention this to anyone else, I mean, I might never get a girl again!"_

"_So I was just a game to you? An experiment?"_

_Stacee shrugged._

"_I'll give you a call next time I'm in town." Stacee said off-handedly, "Now, I think you should go. I'm on in five minutes. I trust you can see yourself out."_

_Lonny only stared. As the hurt settled in, his heart broke, he punched Stacee in the face. Stacee yelped as Lonny's scorpion ring cut into his cheek._

_Arsenal was recording a live album at the Bourbon. It had been almost a year since Stacee broke up with Lonny, and the brunette was handling things nicely._

_He'd already had a few one night stands, and he always made it quite clear that he didn't want anything more than that. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for his date of the evening's three suicide attempts…_

_Dennis had been there every step of the way, and Lonny had spent most of his time trying to deny his feelings for his boss. It was ridiculous. He'd just gotten out of a serious relationship. Besides, there was no way Dennis would go for a guy like him anyway. _

'_Still,' Lonny said to himself, 'Den does look pretty gorgeous in those jeans…'_

_He shook his head to clear the thought. He wasn't about to let his best friend become a rebound, one night stand. Even if he did look good in those jeans._

_Today was they day they were supposed to be recording Arsenal's new album; Arsenal, live at the Bourbon 1979. Creative title._

_Stacee sauntered in, followed by several groupies, glanced at Lonny, and stopped dead in his tracks._

"_Lonny." He said after a moment. Lonny clapped sarcastically._

"_Well done Stace. You finally got my name right."_

"_You're alive? Dennis told me you killed yourself."_

"_Tried__ to kill myself." Lonny corrected, "Three times. First time I got the pill dosage wrong, second time the rope broke, and third time Dennis managed to coax me off the roof." Lonny smiled at the memory._

_He'd been standing on the roof of the Bourbon, ready to jump, watching the police cars and staff members tell him not to do it. Dennis ran up onto the roof, looking distressed, and yelled;_

"_Lonny don't do it! It'll be bad for business!"_

_Whether Dennis had been joking or deadly serious, Lonny wasn't sure. But it had made him laugh, and he was willing to get off the roof._

"_Three failed attempts?" Stacee questioned, "Why?"_

"_Because of you, you bloody bastard!" Lonny yelled, "Do I mean anything to you at all? Did I mean anything to you ever?"_

"_Ssh." Stacee muttered, "Keep your voice down. You want everyone to hear you?"_

_Lonny nodded._

"_Yeah. I hope everyone hears. I hope your reputation's ruined forever!"_

_Stacee stared._

"_I'll deal with you in a minute." He whispered before turning to his groupies, "Come on girls."_

_As the three girls walked by, Lonny looked one up and down._

"_What's your name?" He asked, the girl smiled._

"_Patty."_

"_Huh. Well Patty, you been following Stacee around long?"_

"_Oh yeah. We've been dating for a few days now. I think it's getting serious." The girl chirped with excitement, "I think he loves me!"_

_Lonny snorted._

"_Yeah. I used to think he loved me too."_

_Stacee dragged Lonny into the dressing room in a rage. He was angry with Lonny for making a scene, but angry with himself for hurting the brunette so badly._

"_Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I never meant to be so bad to you. But it's just not going to work. I, I can't risk my reputation. Besides, you need to be with someone who deserves you."_

"_B-but, I love you Stace."_

"_I know… but I don't want to hurt you anymore."_

_Lonny leaned in, and Stacee didn't object. _

_Dennis headed towards Stacee's dressing room. He'd seen Lonny and Stacee disappear, but he wasn't sure why. When he walked in, he glared._

"_Lonny. Out." Dennis jerked his head towards the door. Lonny obeyed, taking a last look at Stacee before leaving._

"_What the hell are you doing?" Dennis asked. Stacee shrugged._

"_What business is it of yours?"_

"_He nearly killed himself because of you! Do you have any idea what you put us through?"_

"_Us?" Stacee raised an eyebrow, "Since when are you and Lonny together?"_

"_I happen to care about my staff."_

"_Oh, but when I break the heart of one of your barmaids, you suddenly don't give a shit? Since when Is Lonny different?"_

"_Look, just keep away from him alright? He's going through a rough patch right now. No thanks to you. You asshole."_

_Stacee rolled his eyes._

"_Look, just because you so obviously have feelings for him-"_

"_I DO NOT HAVE FEELINGS FOR HIM!"_

_Stacee raised his eyebrows again._

"_Fine."_

"_You're on in five." Dennis muttered before storming out of the room._

_Stacee sighed and sat down on the couch._

"_Jackass." He muttered._

_Dennis returned to the main part of the Bourbon._

"_Ok, let's get moving. Groupies, get off the stage, Arsenal, get ready for sound check, Lonny, stay where I can see you and for the love of god, behave."_

_Lonny smirked and took a seat at the bar. After sorting out a few things, Dennis took the seat next to him._

_They sat in silence for a moment, and made a little small talk before Lonny finally spoke about what had happened earlier._

"_So, are we going to keep tiptoeing around the elephant in the room, or are we gonna talk about what happened earlier?"_

_Dennis shrugged._

"_Do you want to talk about it?"_

"_Do you want me to want to talk about it?"_

_Dennis rolled his eyes._

"_Let's just pretend it never happened." He said as he draped an arm over Lonny's shoulder. Lonny grinned._

"_Thanks Den."_

Dennis was fuming by the end of the story. Lonny had cut out a few of the details, like why he and Stacee had been kissing in the dressing room, in order to save time.

Lonny sighed. About eight years later, and the event was still painful to talk about.

"You and Stacee?" Dennis questioned, still dumbfounded.

"Yeah. Me and Stacee."

"…Wow. I had no idea…"

"You ok? You look sort of, mad."

Dennis shook his head and pulled Lonny even closer.

"Because of Stacee Jaxx, my rock n' roll brother, I nearly lost the most important person in my life, three times."

Lonny sighed.

"Yeah. He's one hell of a lover though."

Dennis snorted angrily.

"But you're much better." Lonny added.

"Hmph. Sure."

"No really Den. You and me, are the best."

Dennis smiled.

"We are pretty fantastic."

"You're way better than Stacee you know." Lonny added, sipping the last of his drink.

"His loss is my gain." Dennis murmured, kissing Lonny on the cheek.

The following day, while Lonny was still asleep, Dennis called Stacee.

"Hello?" Stacee croaked. He sounded hung over.

"Stacee its Dennis. Get your miserable ass down here right now, before I come down there and sort this out in front of your girlfriend."

Stacee could tell that something was wrong, but didn't dare ask what. He simply yanked on his leather pants and left.

When Stacee entered the Bourbon, he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but shut it again when Dennis slammed him against the wall.

"You son of a bitch." He snarled. Stacee raised his eyebrows.

"Déjá Vu." He muttered.

_After the album had been recorded, Dennis pretty much kicked Stacee out of the club._

"_Get out and stay out. If I ever see you anywhere near this club again I'll amputate your god damn balls. Do you understand?"_

_Stacee nodded before Dennis threw him out the doors. It would be years before Stacee would hear from Dennis again_.

"You broke his heart." Dennis growled, "You used him up and spat him out like he was nothing! He could've died, and it would've been your fault. He loved you Stacee Jaxx! Did you ever love him? Or was he just another one night stand?"

"What do you care?" Stacee asked, his anger levels on the rise, "I thought you'd be pleased. Everything turned out alright for you, didn't it? What about all the other chicks I used? Do you care about them? Of course not. They're not as important as your precious little sidekick."

"Answer the god damn question!" Dennis spat.

"Alright!" Stacee yelled, avoiding Dennis' eyes, "Y-yes. I did love him. I just, I didn't know how to deal with it. I was scared. I'd never… cared so much about anyone I'd been with before. I couldn't handle it!"

"So, what? You just kicked him to the curb?"

"It wasn't like that! I thought I could just end it and he'd move on. He's a good guy, Dennis. More than you deserve."

"Yeah, and a lot more than YOU deserve. God help Constance if this is how you treat the people you care about!"

"Let me finish!"

_After Lonny's third suicide attempt, Dennis was a mess. Maybe even more so than Lonny. He'd loved Lonny for two years, and seeing his best friend like this was breaking his heart. Somebody needed to suffer. Somebody needed to feel guilty. _

"_Stacee. It's Dennis. I just thought I'd let you know that, Lonny… he committed suicide last night. He jumped off the roof of the Bourbon before anyone could stop him."_

_Stacee was silent for a long time._

"_He-he's dead?"_

"_Yeah. He's dead." _

_Stacee bit his lip to fight back the tears._

"_Well, thanks for letting me know. I'll um, see you. I've gotta go record a new single…" Stacee trailed off, stifling sobs._

_Dennis smiled with bitter satisfaction. He knew he should feel guilty, Stacee had clearly taken it badly, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Lonny was miserable, he looked like the walking dead, and he hadn't eaten in two days. Dennis looked up from his seat behind the desk to see Lonny asleep on the couch. Dennis forced himself to look away, his heart was breaking._

"You know, telling someone that the person they love is dead when they're not, is not a nice thing to do." Stacee muttered. Dennis shrugged.

"You had it coming."

"Anyway, I thought he was dead for almost a year before I had to visit the Bourbon to record that album. When I saw he was alive… You know I considered taking him with me when I left? I had all these, crazy ideas on how to keep him in my life. Then I saw you. The way you look at him, it's like you'd do anything for him. You're so protective. You don't care about the Bourbon the way you care about him. I knew he was in good hands. So I left."

"You, nearly, killed him. He lost, so much weight. I thought I was gonna lose him." Dennis sighed.

"I know. I never meant to.."

"Do you still love him?" Dennis asked after a moment. Stacee chuckled.

"Jealous?" He questioned as he lit up a cigarette.

"Would you blame me?" Dennis responded, allowing Stacee to move away from the wall. Stacee shook his head.

"No. I don't blame you. And yeah, I guess I do still love him. But, I don't think I could compete with you. He'd do anything for you."

"He'd do anything for you."

Stacee shook his head again.

"No. I've hurt him too badly now. He doesn't love me enough to forgive me for what I did. And I think Constance opened up old wounds."

_Lonny stood at the doorway of the office. Stacee and Constance were sitting at the bar. They'd been dating for two months now. And as far as Lonny was aware, Stacee hadn't seen anyone else on the side either._

"_Hmph. That Stacee Jaxx. He's got such a complex mind. Too complex to focus on one person at a time. Christ, what a load of bullshit." He rolled his eyes. Dennis appeared behind him and wrapped his arms around him._

"_Did you say something Lon?" Dennis asked as he rested his head on Lonny's shoulder._

"_Nah. Just thinking aloud I spose'."_

"_You gonna be much longer?" Dennis questioned. Lonny grinned._

"_Gimme' another minute or so." He responded. Dennis nodded._

"_Ok. By the way, I love you in that shirt."_

_Lonny's grin grew wider as he glanced down at Dennis' KISS T-shirt. It was the first thing he'd found when he got up._

"_Hmm, I'll have to where it more often then."_

_He took one last look at Stacee and Constance, and then back in the direction of the bedroom and smiled._

_He'd made his choice, and he was going to stick by it. And no rock god was going to tear Lonny away from his beloved Dennis Dupree._

"Look, I gave Lonny up. And I know, I hurt him. But that's my cross to bear. I have to live with that, and watch you two together for the rest of my life. But I can live with that. Just, take my advice. Don't ever hurt him. Because you might not ever get him back."

Stacee pushed past Dennis, and left the Bourbon.


End file.
